Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Your rights are probably determinable from a close reading of the exact language of the lease and a close look at when and how the payments were received. In other words, this is probably a fact-driven situation, rather than law-driven. The question will be whether the payments arrived within the allowable time frame, or did not.

However, there are two other factors to look at. First, if the lease agreement contains a clause saying "time is of the essence," as it probably does, then the interpretation will be strict, as stated in the first paragraph. If the lease does not have a "time is of the essence" clause, and the three disputed payments were only a day or two late, a court would probably excuse you from the late-payment penalty, which seems pretty severe for only a token lateness and no other problems.

In addition, courts do not smile upon excessive late fees, because they regard them as penalties, not merely a way for the landlord to (more or less fairly) recoup its expenses due to your lateness (interest, collection costs, etc.). Judges believe that handing out penalties is for the courts, not the landlords, to do. I cannot really say whether $150 is a legally excessive late fee without knowing what your monthly rent is.......if it's $1,250 a month, I'd say $150 is too much. If, on the other hand, you monthly rent is $12,500, then maybe $150 as a late fee is acceptable. I think 3% was a guideline, at least at one time, so maybe the threshold of reasonableness would be monthly rent of $5,000. 3% of $5,000 is $150.

I meant to mention, also, that I would strongly recommend contacting the landlord or property manager and negotiating. Find out why they claim latenesses that you dispute. Maybe if you approach them coolly and calmly, and weren't too late (if at all), they'll waive the charges.

I would just be curious as to whether or not you have proof that you were late only once, instead of four times as they landlord claims. You may want to speak to the landlord before anyone files any small claims case and show him or her any proof that you have that shows you were not late.